Spain drops opposition to EU limits on coal power

Reported that Spanish government has begun winding down state aid for coal power, saying it now sides with a European Commission plan to prohibit so called capacity payments for plants emitting more than 550g of carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour. Ms Teresa Ribera, the minister for the ecological transition, made the announcement during a parliamentary committee meeting dedicated to the reform of the Spanish power market.

She said that “All reforms” of the electricity market in Spain “must be in line with the Winter Package presented by the European Commission, especially when it comes to the internal market and interconnections, referring to a reform of EU power market rules that is currently being debated at EU level.”

Ms Ribera said that “As you know, one of the topics for discussion at the last Informal Council was the emission limits for capacity payments, adding that Spain supported the limit of 550g CO2/kwh”.